Redpoll poll

The Common Redpoll is a finch of the Arctic tundra that now and then comes south in the winter to feed. I previously saw them nearly four years ago. I start with a picture from then which enables me to poll both redpoll frequency and evolving image quality. 

Of course, I wondered what was the relationship between the words redpoll and poll (as in, take a). Poll is a middle English word meaning head. That accounts for the name of a bird with a red crown. The modern use of the word, poll, comes from the idea of a head count.

A Common Redpoll forages for seeds on January 27, 2012. Obtaining a good picture of such a frenetic bird is always a matter of happenstance, but clearly this image is not as detailed as are yesterday’s, below.

This is one of three female redpolls seen yesterday. The out-of-focus background is lakeshore snow and water. I wonder if this will prove a good winter for seeing redpolls.

Here is a detail of the red poll of a redpoll.

“I’m outa here.”